Now that we have outlined different types of events, let’s talk about some basic planning steps that we see across all use cases. Within this article we will also take a look at some of my own tried and true strategies that I use daily for every event I organize.
Plans and Prep
Detailing your entire planning process can be quite extensive and become disorganized by default. Despite all of the ups and downs that may happen throughout the different phases of planning and executing a project, our end-goal is to have a well-run event where attendees, sponsors, and speakers have a positive experience. To help curb the chaos of planning, here is an outline of five action items that should be completed as you get started. By automatically completing each of the following steps, you can ensure that you end up with a well-run event 90% of the time.
Step One: Preliminary Project Definitions
There are a handful of things that make planning and preparation work much easier when it is defined at the beginning of a new project. The six items I typically find myself defining are: event type, approximate location (virtual, hybrid, in-person), target audience (including potential sponsors), expected number of attendees, possible speakers (where applicable), and desired outcomes.
Each item listed above feeds into the next so that when you have an answer for one, the next should easily follow resulting in a fairly good overview of what shape your event will eventually take. The above items will help you to plan, for example, finding a venue large enough for your expected audience; your target list of sponsors can be approached from the start with an overview of what to expect; and potential speakers can more easily decide if they would like to participate. Additionally, outlining some desired project goals may include an ideal number of total speakers, a preliminary date of the event, and target revenue. The completed set of preliminary definitions ultimately give your project both shape and meaning, making the entire journey a bit easier to manage.
Step Two: Communication
Besides your team, the two most important groups of people you want to communicate with during planning and preparation are speakers and sponsors. They will help to raise awareness of the event as well as sell tickets.
The number one most important thing to have is an outline of what you need from the moment you start onboarding. For example, as soon as a speaker commits to the event collect their headshot, biography, social media handles, and the topic or a working title of their talk as soon as possible. Along the same lines, as soon as there is a signed agreement, get a download of a sponsor’s brand guidelines as well as text explaining who they are and what they do. Having this sort of information from both speakers and sponsors at the start is extremely valuable information to use and share, creating more hype around the event.
A word of caution: Avoid receiving all of this necessary information over email as it can easily get lost. I suggest to use a form to collect the information all at once. Email the form link along with some simple instructions to the speaker or sponsor then follow up if the information is not received within a week or so. When you receive the speaker or sponsor information from your form, use this opportunity to say thank you, confirm the information was received, and share when they can expect to receive further instructions or information.
Step Three: Manage Expectations
Before an event can truly take shape, outline what “jobs” need to be done. This job list should include things to do before, during, and after the event. The reason why it is so important to create such a list is to give yourself a well-rounded idea of where additional assistance is going to be required as early as possible. Knowing that you may need ten volunteers this year versus the five from last year provides ample time to ask for help and supply potential volunteers with a "job” list they that can choose their task from. Doing so will make your volunteer’s experience much better and hopefully give you some peace of mind in the hours leading up to the event.
Step Four: Backup Plans
Creating backup plans is the most important piece of preparation that you can do in the long term. Creating one or more backup plans will help you to avoid feeling overwhelmed in times that require you to act fast and think quickly on your feet. Some things that you may want to have contingency plans for include: venue, catering, and speakers.
The following are a few examples of things that I routinely plan for when creating backup plans:
Have a plan to go live to your audience online should you need to pivot away from an in-person audience. Likewise, be sure to have backup a stream available that you can easily switch to and means of communicating the change if your original livestream fails. For in-person events, make sure you have enough food options to go around for attendees that have dietary restrictions. To additionally supplement this, I always locate the nearest grocery store to be able to quickly run to grab whatever it is that may be needed last minute. Regarding speakers, it can be awkward to ask a speaker to be a backup but more times than not, people are happy to help. I always like to offer to record a speaker’s content as well in the case we do not need them as a backup during the live event.
Step Five: Retrospective
Always plan to hold a retrospective, even if it’s just for yourself. A retrospective is a meeting where you analyze the end result of your project, outlining things that went well and things that can be improved for next time. Retrospectives are typically held as a team meeting and include one person who acts as a facilitator. If you would like to learn more about how to best optimize your retrospectives, take a look at Aino Vonge Corry’s “Retrospectives Antipatterns”.
As you go through the planning and preparation stages of your event, it is helpful to note down things that went well or not as well as your original goals for the event. Taking such notes will help you remember important details to bring up during the retrospective as well as provide context that may otherwise be forgotten.
Strategy
When all is said and done, the best method of planning and preparation that you can have is to be organized in a manner that best suits your way of working. I personally find that writing notes in a to-do list form coupled with setting aside a few of hours per week of focus time in my calendar work best for me. By note keeping throughout the week (and in various meetings) I can keep better track of important action items, returning to them later on and ensuring they are completed in a timely manner.
In terms of keeping documents organized, I keep a new folder for each event that I work on. The first item in the folder is a page of notes that contain ideas and initial comments pertaining to my five planning steps, including anything I want to bring to the retrospective. The second item in the event’s folder is a spreadsheet where all of my speaker and sponsor information will be automatically updated with form results. Throughout the entire process of planning an event, I will open each of the two documents described nearly on a daily basis. Both documents are also easily accessible to the rest of the team I am working with.
As I tend to plan multiple events at once, having individual folders per project keeps things manageable. Documents and information tend not to get lost as easily and sharing information with new or existing team members stays simple because everything for one event is in the same place. There is no confusion, which makes things run smoother overall.
Some Final Thoughts
When it comes to event organization, expect the unexpected. To some degree something will always go awry. Likewise, not everyone will enjoy the event and that is ok. So then, if one of our goals is to ensure everyone has a positive experience, what happens when this is not the case and things inevitably do not go as planned?
There will always be something that can be improved. Take this feedback in whatever form it may come. Listen and be graceful, understanding, and include it in the retrospective. Then, earnestly keep the feedback in mind for later because we always want attendees, speakers, and sponsors to return for future events. As you respond to the feedback, ensure that the person feels listened to and ask them for a suggestion as to what alternative they might have preferred. If the suggestion does not necessarily work in the grand scheme of things, that is ok but let the person know that you will keep it in mind for next time and honestly do so. You never know when feedback will become useful.
To conclude, I would like to share a final piece of unsolicited advice: Get everything in writing, especially when talking about money; If you are able to provide a Letter of Intent (LOI), Statement of Work (SOW), or any sort of signed contract that outlines the expected tasks between both parties and cost for the service(s) provided, even better.